Raytheon brings automation and virtualization to NASA's Earth Observing System

20-Apr-2013 07:31 EDT

Raytheon Co. was awarded an $8 million contract with NASA Goddard Space Center to upgrade the command, control, and telemetry (CCT) subsystems of the Earth Observing System (EOS). Enhancing the CCT subsystem will allow NASA to lower maintenance costs by exploiting automation and virtualization technologies, reducing the number of machines that need to be maintained by 69%. The EOS CCT subsystem evolution and development contract, which supports the Terra, Aqua, Aura, and TRMM missions, will continue to give scientists and climate researchers access to valuable data to better understand how the earth's atmosphere, oceans, and lands interact. Raytheon developed the core components of NASA's EOS CCT subsystem by integrating its command and control ECLIPSE-based online software, which became operational in 1999.

Northrop Grumman recently completed its successful inaugural flight test of the UTC Aerospace Systems MS-177 sensor payload on an RQ-4 Global Hawk. The ability to carry more powerful sensors close the capability gap between the RQ-4 and soon-to-be-retired Lockheed U-2.